The director of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), Professor Cordula Artelt, has been elected the new spokesperson for Section A “Humanities and Educational Research” of the Leibniz Association since October 1, 2025. She succeeds Professor Henning Lobin from the Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS). This position also makes her a member of the Presidium of the Leibniz Association.
Section A currently brings together 23 institutes from the fields of humanities, educational research, and research museums, pooling their expertise in key social issues. It focuses on three main topics: “Education as Potential,” “History as a Resource for the Present,” and “Cultural Heritage and Digital Change.” The institutes in the section work closely together in a network and across disciplines.
In addition to her membership in the Presidium of the Leibniz Association and in individual Senate committees, the spokesperson for the section reports to the Leibniz General Assembly, is primarily responsible for the section's profile and positions, and initiates position papers together with other section members.
“Especially in times of profound social upheaval, research in the humanities, cultural studies, and educational sciences has a special responsibility,” emphasizes Professor Cordula Artelt. “The institutes in Section A make an important contribution to better understanding the historical, cultural, and social foundations of our social coexistence—and to bringing this knowledge to the public.”
Section A, “Humanities and Educational Research,” is one of five sections of the Leibniz Association. It brings together institutes of educational sciences, history, humanities, cultural, and technical sciences, institutions that offer and develop research infrastructures, and research museums with internationally significant collections.
With the appointment of Cordula Artelt as spokesperson for Section A and as a member of the Presidium, which advises the Executive Board on all strategically relevant issues, the LIfBi will be even more involved in central decision-making processes within the Leibniz Association in the future.
Professor Maren Röger, Director of the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), was elected as deputy.